And vafes bofs'd, and huge infcriptive stones,
And intermingling vines; and figur'd nymphs,
Flora's and Chloe's of delicious mould,

Chearing the darkness; and deep empty tombs,
And dells, and mouldering fhrines, with old decay
Ruftic and
green and wide-embowering shades,
Shot from the crooked clefts of nodding towers.-
A folemn wilderness! with error sweet,

I wind the lingering step, where-e'er the path ›
Mazy conducts me, which the vulgar foot

O'er fculptures maim'd has made; Anubis, Sphinx,
Idols of antique guife, and horned Pan,
Terrific, monftrous fhapes! prepofterous Gods,
Of Fear and Ignorance, by the fculptor's hand
Hewn into form, and worship'd; as ev'n now
Blindly they worship at their breathless mouths *
In varied appellations: men to these

(From deep to depth in darkening error fall'n)
At length afcrib'd th' Inapplicable Name.

How doth it please and fill the memory

With deeds of brave renown, while on each hand
Hiftoric urns and breathing statues rife,
And speaking bufts! Sweet Scipio, Marius ftern,
Pompey fuperb, the fpirit-ftirring form

Of Cæfar raptur'd with the charm of rule
And boundless fame; impatient for exploits,
His eager eyes upcaft, he foars in thought

Above

* Several statues of the Pagan gods have been converted into images of faints.

1

Above all height: and his own Brutus fee,
Defponding Brutus, dubious of the right,
In evil days, of faith, of public weal,
Solicitous and fad. Thy next regard
Be Tully's graceful attitude; unprais'd,
His out-ftretch'd arm he waves, in act to speak
Before the filent mafters of the world,
And eloquence arrays him. There behold
Prepar'd for combat in the front of war
The pious brothers; jealous Alba stands
In fearful expectation of the strife,

And youthful Rome intent: the kindred foes
Fall on each other's neck in filent tears;
In forrowful benevolence embrace-

Howe'er they foon unsheath the flashing fword,
Their country calls to arms; now all in vain
The mother clafps the knee, and ev'n the fair
Now fweeps in vain; their country calls to arms.
Such virtue Clelia, Cocles, Manlius, rouz'd;
Such were the Fabii, Decii; so inspir'd,
The Scipio's battled, and the Gracchi spoke :
So rofe the Roman ftate. Me now, of these
Deep-mufing, high ambitious thoughts inflame
Greatly to serve my country, distant land,
And build me virtuous fame; nor fhall the duft
Of these fall'n piles with fhew of fad decay
Avert the good resolve, mean argument,
The fate alone of matter.-Now the brow

We gain enraptur'd; beauteously distinct *
The numerous porticos and domes upfwell,
With obelisks and columns interpos'd,
And pine, and fir, and oak: fo fair a scene
Sees not the dervise from the spiral tomb
Of ancient Chaminos, while his eye beholds
Proud Memphis' reliques o'er th' Ægyptian plain :
Nor hoary hermit from Hymettus' brow,
Though graceful Athens, in the vale beneath..
Along the windings of the Muse's stream,
Lucid Ilyffus weeps her filent schools,
And groves, unvifited by bard or fage.
Amid the towery ruins, huge, fupreme,
Th' enormous amphitheatre behold,
Mountainous pile! o'er whose capacious womb
Pours the broad firmament its varied light;
While from the central floor the feats afcend
Round above round, flow-widening to the verge,
A circuit vast and high; nor less had held
Imperial Rome, and her attendant realms,
When drunk with rule fhe will'd the fierce delight,
And op'd the gloomy caverns, whence out-rush'd
Before th' innumerable houting crowd
The fiery, madded, tyrants of the wilds,
Lions and tigers, wolves and elephants,

And defperate men, more fell. Abhorr'd intent!
By frequent converfe with familiar death,

.To

From the Palatin hill one fees moft of the remarkatiquities.

To kindle brutal daring apt for war;

To lock the breast, and steal th' obdurate heart
Amid the piercing cries of fore distress

Behold yon fteepy cliff; the modern pile
Perchance may now delight, while that, rever'd *
In ancient day, the page alone declares,
Or narrow coin through dim cærulean rust.
The fane was Jove's, its spacious golden roof,
O'er thick-furrounding temples beaming wide,
Appear'd, as when above the morning hills
Half the round fun afcends; and tower'd aloft,
Suftain'd by columns huge, innumerous
As cedars proud on Canaan's verdant heights
Darkening their idols, when Aftarte lur'd
Too-profperous Ifrael from his living strength.
And next regard yon venerable dome,
Which virtuous Latium, with erroneous aim,
Rais'd to her various deities, and nam'd
Pantheon; plain and round; of this our world
Majestic emblem; with peculiar grace
Before its ample orb, projected ftands
The many-pillar'd portal: nobleft work
Of human skill: here, curious architect,
If thou essay'st, ambitious, to furpafs
Palladius, Angelus, or British Jones,
On these fair walls extend the certain fcale,
And turn th' inftructive compass: careful mark

* The Capitol.

How

'Tis now the raven's bleak abode ;
'Tis now th' apartment of the toad;
And there the fox fecurely feeds;
And there the poisonous adder breeds,
Conceal'd in ruins, mofs, and weeds;
While, ever and anon, there falls
Huge heaps of hoary moulder'd walls.
Yet time has feen, that lifts the low,
And level lays the lofty brow,
Has feen this broken pile compleat,
Big with the vanity of state;
But tranfient is the fmile of Fate!
A little rule, a little fway,
A fun-beam in a winter's-day,
Is all the proud and mighty have
Between the cradle and the grave.

And fee the rivers how they run,

Through woods and meads, in fhade and fun,
Sometimes fwift, fometimes flow,
Wave fucceeding wave, they go
A various journey to the deep,
Like human life, to endless fleep!
Thus is Nature's vefture wrought,
To inftruct our wandering thought;
Thus fhe dreffes green and gay,
To difperfe our cares away.

Ever charming, ever new,
When will the landskip tire the view!
The fountain's fall, the river's flow,
The woody vallies, warm and low;

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